O"Rourke takes charge of u-21s

THE names of three former Meath All-Star footballers featured prominently at a Co Committee meeting on Monday night although for sharply contrasting reasons. Liam Hayes was the subject of some severe criticism from delegates because of a recent article he penned in the Sunday Tribune. Hayes hit out at how the Meath Co Committee went about selecting a new manager of the senior team. His article provoked a strong backlash among angry delegates. Earlier at the meeting Colm O"Rourke was officially unveiled as the manager of the Meath u-21 team for 2009. His selectors are Trevor Giles and Colm Menton from Donaghmore/Ashbourne. The new u-21 coach has wasted little time in getting himself familiar with the task in hand as he was in attendance at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday for the u-21 FC final between Summerhill and Gaeil Colmcille. After a long and successful playing career that yielded two All-Ireland medals and two All-Star awards O"Rourke enjoyed some good days as a coach. He guided St Patrick"s CS Navan to three All-Ireland Colleges SFC titles and also had a brief spell in charge of the Meath minors. He also guided the fortunes of Simonstown Gaels for a number years although the Keegan Cup proved elusive. The nearest he came to winning the famous trophy as a manager was in 2003 when Simonstown lost to Blackhall Gaels after leading by nine points at the interval. Giles took over as manager of the Skryne senior team for the 2008 championship. He can draw on extensive experience from an eventful playing career. He helped Meath to All-Ireland triumphs in 1996 and '99 and he also won three All-Star awards. Colm Menton has managed Donaghmore/Ashbourne to the last two of three successive Meath MFC titles. He has extensive experience coaching under-age teams at club and inter-county levels. Meath u-21s have enjoyed little success in recent years and in the 2008 championship they were heavily defeated by Kildare. The Royal County have won just one All-Ireland u-21 FC, in 1993. Kit Henry was also ratified as manager of the Meath junior team for 2009 and his selectors will be Tommy Finnegan, Patsy Farrell, Damien Griffin and Darren Clarke. Also ratified as coach to the Meath minors was Pat Coyle and his management team will once again be made up of James Battersby, Martin Blake, Richie Cahill and trainer Paul Clarke, Before the Monday"s meeting finished there was strong criticism of Hayes"s controversial Sunday Tribune article when he termed the Co Committee"s search for a new senior manager as a 'shameful drama.' Dunshaughlin delegate Mairead Delaney said she was 'horrified' to read what a Meathman was writing about his native county. She added that it would never happen in her native Galway. 'I don"t think anyone from my county would treat another person from the county like that,' she said. Co Committee chairman Barney Allen said he agreed '100 per cent' with her comments. Minor Committee chairman Ultan Fitzpatrick also expressed his outrage and disappointment at the views expressed in the article. 'It was poor print, poor form,' he added. Co Committee assistant secretary Cathal Joyce said it was a 'terrible article to write' adding that the Co Committee had went about their task with the best of intentions. A member of the sub-committee formed to pick the new manager, Francis Flynn said he had spoken to Hayes just a few days before the article was published. 'At that stage he hadn"t the guts to say anything to me face to face,' he added.